It is frequently necessary for a person confined to a wheelchair to be transported. While it is possible for the person to be transferred from the wheelchair to a seat of a motor vehicle, this is quite time-consuming and require the wheelchair to be of the folding type so that it may be stored in the vehicle. Accordingly, it is common to provide a motor vehicle, such as a van, with enough room for a wheelchair simply to be rolled into the vehicle with the person remaining in the wheelchair. This type of transportation creates a significant safety problem because the wheelchair is difficult to secure to the vehicle and may cause great injury to the occupant of the wheelchair if the vehicle makes a sharp turn, sudden stop, or is involved in an accident.
Several suggestions have been made in the art for devices to secure a wheelchair to a vehicle, but these devices have heretofore been difficult to use, expensive and ineffective.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,265,478 (Korsgaard) shows a device for securing a wheelchair. This device employs a single means for engaging the wheelchair which requires the use of a bracket which may be mounted to a wheelchair for engaging a round bar on a vertical standard. This secures the chairs only at one vertical location, and a safety belt is used to engage the chest of an occupant of the wheelchair.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,076,268 (Hart) shows an apparatus for securing a wheelchair to a vehicle. Brackets are mounted on the floor of the vehicle and have slots for engaging portions of the wheelchair. This apparatus is inconvenient to install and requires a substantial amount of vehicle space to be dedicated to the mounting brackets.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,093,303 (Nelson) shows yet another device for retaining a wheelchair. Elongate elements are secured to the vehicle and extend around the wheelchair to engage forwardly located structural members. This apparatus requires a substantial amount of time to secure the wheelchair and provides no protection against vertical movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,389,056 (Tenniswood) discloses a system for automatically securing a wheelchair to a vehicle. A motor causes a linkage system to lower a rear bar of the wheelchair into an anchor. This requires a number of expensive elements which makes this system impractical for widespread use.